Page 254 - Effective Communication Soft Skills Strategies For Success by Nitin Bhatnagar, Mamta Bhatnagar

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(e.g., Since 1999, our school has been winning this trophy. For ten years our
students have topped the SSC merit list.)
Prepositional or phrasal verb is another area you must practise well.
Prepositional verbs are made of a verb and a preposition. For example, ‘call
up’ is a prepositional verb and is made of two elements, the verb ‘call’ and the
preposition ‘up’. Its unique meaning (make a telephone call) goes beyond the
individual meanings of each of its constituents. Such verbs add a smart look
to you English, especially the spoken variety.
For example, ‘You can telephone me’ sounds pompous but ‘you can
ring me up’ appears far friendlier. Similarly, instead of ‘extinguishing the
tube light’, it is better to ‘switch it off and then ‘switch it on’ when you
need it.
Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary (OALD) is your best guide to
such verb usage. Along with the verb entry itself, the OALD provides you
with each of its phrasal variants. The actual examples, abundantly provided,
make it easy for you to remember the list.
In fact, one of your projects for your senior students could deal with
specific phrasal alias prepositional verbs, preferably needed for a specific
theme. For example, your students can make a list of such verbs needed in
the lab. Such an exercise is sure to hone your students’ use of prepositions
as well.

Modals
If prepositions give your English a ‘propah’ look, modals make it ‘pukka’
professional. Modals are auxiliary (that is, helping) verbs that indicate the
mood of a speaker, e.g., ‘Can I come in’ is more informal, but ‘May I come
in?’ is very formal.
Similarly, ‘it may rain’ indicates a strong possibility but ‘there could
be water on Mars’ indicates a dim chance about which the writer is not
very sure.
These different shades of meaning are conveyed through the use of such
modals as ‘may’, ‘can’, ‘could’, etc. Effective use of modals, in brief, is essential
for efficient written communication.
Given the constraints of space here, we can look at the basic modals,
though we suggest that you should consult the books listed in the bibliogra-
phy to acquire a good command over use of modals in your communication,
both written and/or oral.
Here is a tabular representation that would help you remember the
modals. Do remember, please, that when we use the modals as auxiliaries,
the main verb should be in its basic, dictionary form. For example,

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